The present invention relates to long term care beds and particularly to controls for long term care beds. More particularly, the present invention relates to a long term care bed including a bed deck supporting a mattress having a sleeping surface for carrying a long term care resident, the deck and mattress being movable relative to the floor so that the sleeping surface can be lowered to a position adjacent to the floor.
Many hospital beds include a patient-support surface that can be raised and lowered relative to the floor. Adjusting the height of the patient-support surface allows both for maximizing the convenience of caregivers working at the hospital bed and for assisting the ingress and egress of patients to and from the patient-support surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,097,939 to Peck et al.; 4,097,940 to Tekulve et al.; 5,317,769 to Weismiller et al.; 5,248,562 to Borders et al.; 3,711,876 to Kirkland et al.; and 4,025,972 to Adams et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and each of which discloses a hospital bed or a stretcher having a patient-support surface that can be raised and lowered relative to the floor.
Hospital beds and stretchers are often provided with casters so that the bed can be moved or, particularly for stretchers, so that the stretcher and the resident can be transported. These devices are commonly provided with a caster braking system to prevent movement of the device when the caregiver wishes to keep the device stationary. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,682 to Edgerton, Jr., disclosing a patient-support device having casters and including a braking system for preventing movement of the device.
Hospital beds and stretchers are also typically provided with side guard rails to prevent movement of the patient past the sides of the sleeping surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,083,334 to Huck et al. and 3,585,659 and 2,722,017 to Burst et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and each of which discloses a patient-support device including side guard rails that extend upwardly past the sleeping surface a fixed distance above the patient-support surface.
In accordance with the present invention, a bed includes a base frame, a bed deck above the base frame, and an intermediate frame carrying the bed deck. The intermediate frame is mounted to the base frame for movement relative to the base frame between a raised position spaced apart above the base frame and a lowered position below the raised position. The bed also includes a side rail mounted to the intermediate frame and extending generally upwardly therefrom to a top of the side rail, a drive assembly coupling the intermediate frame to the base frame, and control buttons mounted on the side rail and coupled to the drive assembly so that activation of the control buttons activates the drive assembly. The drive assembly is configured to move the intermediate frame between the raised position and the lowered position when the drive assembly is activated. The control buttons include resident control buttons facing toward the bed deck and caregiver control buttons facing away from the bed deck. The resident control buttons are spaced apart from the top by a first distance and the caregiver control buttons being spaced apart from the top by a second distance that is greater than the first distance.
In the illustrated embodiment, the side rail includes a top portion defining the top. The top portion has a first width. The side rail is formed to include an undercut portion spaced apart from the top portion and adjacent to the resident control buttons. The undercut portion has a second width that is less than the first width. The undercut portion cooperates with the top portion to define a grasping point adjacent to the resident control buttons that can be grasped by the resident when operating the resident control buttons.
Also in the illustrated embodiment, the bed deck is an articulated deck having longitudinally spaced-apart head, seat, and leg sections. At least one of the head, seat, and leg sections is a movable section pivotally coupled to the intermediate frame for movement between a generally horizontal lowered position and an upward raised position. The bed further includes a second drive assembly coupling the movable section to the intermediate frame. The second drive assembly moves the movable section between the raised and lowered positions when the second drive assembly is activated. The control buttons further include second resident control buttons coupled to the second drive assembly, mounted to the side rail, and facing toward the bed deck and second caregiver control buttons coupled to the second drive assembly, mounted to the side rail, and facing away from the bed deck.
Illustratively, the second resident control buttons are spaced apart from the top by a third distance and the second caregiver control buttons being spaced apart from the top by a fourth distance that is greater than the third distance. Also illustratively, the third distance is generally equal to the first distance and the fourth distance is generally equal to the second distance so that the first and second resident control buttons are generally horizontally aligned and the first and second caregiver control buttons are generally horizontally aligned.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.